Re-MARRIED

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Married' - Season Two Premiere on Blogcritics.

Some series like to start their seasons with a big opener. FX’s Married is not one those programs, nor does it need to be. The quiet, depressing, amusing, realistic look at marriage is all about the characters and the way their complex relationships are portrayed. They do not need big stories or ratings-grabbing stunts to make it good.

It’s funny that, considering what I just said, the first episode of season two is called “Thanksgiving.” Traditionally, sitcoms have used holidays, especially that one, to do splashier plots. Married constantly subverts what one expects from a family comedy, though, and this season premiere is no exception. It isn’t actually Thanksgiving in the episode, and while the set up is familiar, the way it plays out is edgy and unexpected.

I liked season one a lot, but it took some time to get settled into what it was. As Married begins its second run with “Thanksgiving,” though, it’s clear those rough edges have been smoothed out. The half hour both feels at once totally in sync with the previously installments, but also more polished and solid. Fans now understand Russ (Nat Faxon) and Lina (Judy Greer) a lot better, and this knowledge definitely colors how we see them interact. This union has its ups and downs, but there is real love there, and they do make a good team.

I have to take a moment to admire Greer and Faxon’s skills. When the casting was first announced, I was familiar with them both, but usually as second-rate players, so I assumed they would be here as well. This is not the case. Given good material that seems perfectly tailored to them, they have both emerged as worthy stars. I admire both the nuance and the realism in their performances, and their chemistry is fantastic. I think my favorite part of Married is just watching the two in a scene together, which never disappoints.

“Thanksgiving” finds them visiting Lina’s mother, Janice (Frances Conroy, American Horror Story), who is no longer mentally all there. Janice lives with Ed (M.C. Gainey, Lost), who is not Lina’s dad, but has been with Janice for well over a decade. Lina worries that Ed might not have Janice’s best interests at heart, especially when the topic turns to sex. Is she right? And whether she is or not, what is she in a position to do about it, and does she have a right to overrule Ed? Aging parents are a topic many a married couple has to deal with, and I like Married‘s grounded take.

While Lina and Russ are the central characters of married, AJ (Brett Gelman) and Jess (Jenny Slate) are also main characters. Often, while they’ve had tiny subplots, they’ve been regulated to supporting people, coming in far distant in importance from the leads. “Thanksgiving” fixes that, giving them their own, fully fleshed out, interesting B story. It does not relate to Russ and Lina at all, Jess actually has to learn something, and we get to see them both as separate individuals, a welcome development. Plus, there are hilarious little moments for Shep (Paul Reiser) thrown in, making me wish he appeared just a bit more.

Married isn’t the perfect show. Some will find it too serious to be considered a comedy, even though that’s what it bills itself as. However, this is not much different from what HBO and Showtime sell as sitcoms, and while Married is confined to the limitations of basic cable, it certainly has more leash than a show on the Big Four. It expertly finds that middle ground, still funny like the general public might expect, sometimes laugh-out-loud levels of such, but also displaying the depth and talent that the premiums do. I’m very satisfied with its return, a marked improvement over the already-good freshman season.

Married returns Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET on FX.

Time to Get MARRIED

Article first published as 'Married' Season Finale Review on Blogcritics.

FX’s Married brings its freshman season to a close with “Family Day.” Everyone goes to visit AJ (Brett Gelman) in rehab for Family Day, where he is supposed to apologize for how he has wronged them. Instead, things devolve into a five-way bicker fest as the various adults who make up the cast begin taking out their frustrations with their own lives on those around them. Luckily, the venting actually helps them release their tension and get on track for a happy ending.

I have to be honest, I tolerated Married more than I enjoyed it for most of this season. FX is a terrific network, and Married is paired with the absolutely fantastic You’re the Worst, so I almost watched it out of reflex or default than any actual desire. Plus, I find it much more difficult to give up a half hour series than an hour-long one, as it just didn’t seem like a big commitment to stick with it through its ten episodes. But it’s depressing as hell and makes the viewer feel bad about themselves, so it’s much harder to get into than other fare. It can be barely be called a comedy.

Somewhere along the way, it slowly grew on me, though. It’s not that my marriage is anywhere near as bad as the one at the center of the series; I’m not beaten down. But there’s both a slight satisfaction in seeing a couple worse off than you, and the optimism sparked in select moments that prove even a seemingly-terrible union can still work, that makes Married eventually attractive.

The more I watch Married, the more I’m convinced that Russ (Nat Faxon) and Lina (Judy Greer) are actually much better off than they appear to be. They are in a very rough patch in their lives, struggling financially and stressed out because of their three young children. Russ wants his old life back, and so does Lina, but she’s the more responsible of the pair, soldiering on under the current circumstances, whereas Russ look for tiny outs, and frequently takes them. Because of the misery of dealing with these factors, they work out their anger on one another far too often, and that’s what makes them look like they’re falling apart. But every once in awhile, we get a glimmer of what brought them together in the first place, and it sure feels like that they’ll get back to that happiness once these outside influences are dealt with and go away.

Because of this, I’ve become very fond of the characters. Faxon and Greer are great, as they have been in other projects, and they do an authentic job of developing two characters that are more realistic and complex than most on television. They make themselves sympathetic, even when you’re understanding why their spouse is ticked at them. They’re real people, in look and in action, and that sells the show.

The supporting cast of Married is much the same. Jess (Jenny Slate) and Shep (Paul Reiser) have complications in their own marriage for entirely different reasons, Jess almost trying to escape motherhood. “Family Day” is probably the most we’ve seen of them relating to one another, but while it’s not obvious, they are in a similar boat as Russ and Lina. AJ is mourning the loss of his wife, and he acts out because he wants back what his friends have. Even recurring Bernie (John Hodgman) shows off some good development in the season finale.

Funnily enough, the final scene of “Family Day” is the lightest of the season. After ten weeks of rough stuff, there’s a cookout and everyone is in good spirits. They talk about death, sure, but it’s in a joking manner. Married finally finds it’s heart, and because it waits so long to do so, it’s a well-earned pay-off.

When next season rolls around, I won’t be recording Married just for the heck of it. I will be eagerly anticipating the return of a series that I really like and is very well made. Assuming it’s renewed, of course, which sadly has not happened yet.

Being MARRIED Is Sort of Amusing

Article originally written for Seat42F.

MARIED is a new comedy airing on FX about a couple who have lost the spark in their union and are looking for ways to salvage their relationship. Every day is a struggle, with kids demanding attention and sex pretty much a thing of the past. It’s a bittersweet look at a particularly difficult stage of married life, with emphasis on the bad side, but with an underlying heart that will surely carry the characters through.

Who doesn’t like Nat Faxon (Ben and Kate) and Judy Greer (Arrest Development, Archer)? They are two gifted comedic actors who have been funny in everything they’ve been in, in my opinion. Going in, the fact that the two of them are the leads is a major plus for MARRIED.

The show itself is not quite as funny as I expected it to be, though, which is why I like the series paired with it, You’re the Worst, a little more. There are funny jokes in MARRIED, to be sure, but it’s a toned-down funny, sometimes at the expense of the pathetic players. There is a lot of misery for these characters, people whose life has not gone the way they’ve expected it to. Russ (Faxon) is feeling very unfulfilled because his wife won’t touch him any more, despite his attempts to get her to do so. Lina (Greer) wants to be a good spouse, but she’s too worn out from taking care of their three young girls (How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)’s Rachel Eggleston, Cloud Atlas’ Raevan Lee Hanan, and newcomer Skylar Gray) and doesn’t have the energy to help Russ, too. This darkness is just not a laughing matter.

Yet, there’s also a sweetness to the program. The fact that Lina wants to help Russ proves that there is affection between them, even if she seems to have forgotten how to show it or just isn’t capable of doing so right now. Russ is earnest in his attempts to get Lina interested again, trying to make her happy, too, not just a horny guy obsessed with getting off. It’s hard to blame either one when they are both trying, or what amounts to trying in their current state, and once their kids get older, they should be able to reconnect if they can just hang on to each other for now.

The premise of the first episode is that Lina gives Russ permission to find someone else to help meet his physical needs. This makes sense, logically, but of course emotions are involved, and those are anything but logical. Without going into detail, the story unfolds in a way other than I expected. As regrettable as it is to see Russ even considering going down this road, Greer and Faxon are so good in their parts, effectively communicating the mixed feelings and nuance, that it actually works rather well.

When things get too much for Russ, he heads to the bar to meet his friends Jess (Jenny Slate, Parks and Recreation), who is with a considerably older gentleman, and AJ (Brett Gelman, Go On), who is newly single again. They provide an outlet and advice, allowing him to verbalize much of what he’s thinking. While it may not be completely realistic for Russ to have the time and money to hang out with them so often, it allows the story to keep moving effectively.

Sadly, Lina doesn’t have a similar outlet, stuck at home with the kids while Russ is out getting plot. I hope this is a fluke of the pilot and future installments allow more balance in the couple. The only time I really didn’t like Russ are the scenes in which it’s obvious that he is running around town and Lina is buried in housework and childcare. They should switch off, allowing Lina to have her own stories while Russ takes his time with the girls. This would not only provide gender equality, but also make sure Greer gets her due, as she would be wasted otherwise.

Otherwise, though, MARRIED makes a decent show, not FX’s best, but still worth watching. MARRIED premieres Thursday, July 17^th at 10 p.m. ET.